The present invention is related to integrated molding products and methods of making integrated products with a molding tool.
Molding processes, such as injection molding and multiple shot molding, have been widely used in several industries. In the automotive industry, numerous vehicle parts may be made by such molding processes. For example, vehicle interior panels, circuit boards, and power distribution boxes may be made by such molding processes.
Manufacturers in the automotive industry have been challenged in providing improved cost effective and time saving ways of producing plastic-metal composite products made by such molding processes. In many situations, plastic-metal composite products are used in vehicles for electrical connectivity between electronic devices. Currently, vehicle plastic-metal composite parts that are made by a molding process require a relatively high amount of energy to maintain metal in a molten state during the molding process. In many situations, these molding processes are relatively expensive due to the relatively large amount of heat required to be applied on the molding tool to maintain the metal in a molten state.